Regulator valve



Aug# E3 l935- M. E. HENNING 2,011,220

REGULATOR VALVE Filed April l1, 1932 mfr 7d Patented Aug. 13, 1935 UNITED STATES REGULATOR VVALVE Malcolm E. Henning, Des Moines, Iowa, assignor to Penn Electric Switch Co., Des Moines, Iowa,

a corporation of Iowa Application April 11, 1932, Serial No.1604,556

1 Claim.

' An object of my invention is to provide an automatig:` water regulator valve especially designed for cooling water of a mechanical refrigeration system, the valve being comparatively simple and inexpensive, yet efficient in its operation.

A further object is to provide a valve automatically operable to cause ow of cooling water while the refrigerant compressor is in operation and stop the flow of such water when the refrigerating machine stops operating.

A further object is to provide a valve which admits varying quantities of water to the cooling system dependent upon surrounding atmospheric temperature so that in warm weather greater cooling water flow is had than in cold weather, thus automatically compensating for temperature changes without the necessity of manual `attention.

A further object is to provide a valve which operates efflciently at all pressures cf the cooling water supplied to the valve so that the water supply does not affect the valve to cause a different flow of water therethrough at different pressures.

More particularly, it is myobject to provide a cooling water valve in which a frictionless packing is installed with the effective area of the packing and of the valve seat being substantially equal so that the action of the valve is not affected by varying water pressures.

Another object is to provide a valve of the character used for cooling water of refrigerant systems in which a valve member is provided which is of rubber or similar resilient characteristics and which therefore prevents leakage, such as frequently occurs with all metal valves since the rubber closes around any particles of scale or foreign matter which might lodge on the valve seat.

Another object is to provide for easy removal of the resilient valve member when necessary.

With these and other objects in View my invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of my device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out'in the claim, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing,` in which:-

Figure l is aperspective view of a cooling water valve embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional View therethrough, showing the valve diagrammatically connected with a refrigeration system.

On the accompanying drawing I have used the reference character A to indicate generally a water cooling valve, and B a pressure responsive means for automatically operating the valve. The valve A includes a body I having inlet and outlet bosses I2 and I4 adapted to be connected with piping. Between the bosses I2 and I4 a valve seat opening I5 is formed which is surrounded by a valve seat The member 22 is provided with an extension 26. A nut 28 is threaded on the valve body IIl and is provided with a sleeve 30 to slidably receive the extension 26. A spring 32 is interposed between the nut 28 and the member 22 to serve the purpose l5 of retaining the valve member seated against the seat I8. It will be noted that the valve opens with the pressure of water supplied to the inlet I2 and closes against such pressure so that all possibility of the water pressure serving to slap the 20 valve shut is eliminated.

A valve stem 34 is provided for opening the valve member 22. 'Ihe stem 34 slidably extends through Yan opening 36 of a partition within the body I 0, the opening being a loose working t to allow equalization of water pressure above and below the partition. A boss 38 is formed on the valve body I0 and is capped with a nut 40. 'Ihe nut 40 is provided with an opening 42 through which the valve stem 34 slidably ex- 3o tends.

Within the boss 38 I provide a bellows member 44 having its upper end brazed or otherwise sealed relative to the Valve stem 34 and its lower end brazed or otherwise secured to a washer 46. The washer 46 is confined between the boss 38 and the nut 40, gaskets being provided at this point if found necessary. The upper end of the valve stem 34 is providedwith a pointed reduced end 48 to engage the lower end of the 40 container member 22. e

From the construction of the parts just described, it will be obvious that the valve stem 34 is sealed relative to the Valve body I0 bythe bellows 40, the bellows serving to prevent leakage of water from the boss 38 around the stem 34.

It will be noted that the effectivewarea of the bellows 34 is substantially equal to the effective area of the valve seat opening I6. This is very 50 important as it serves to balance the valve since water under pressure exerts an upward push against the valve member 20, and a downward push against the bellows 44 and when these are equalized there is neither an opening nor a '55 closing tendency of the water under pressure on the valve. Thus, it will be obvious that regardless of whether the water pressure is high or low, the valve will operate the same.

On the boss 38 I provide a ring 50 held in position by a nut 39. The ring 60 is provided with a pair o! arms 62 terminating in a plate 54.

'I'he pressure responsive means B comprises a bellows 56 within a casing 58, the casing having a fitting 60 for connection with a pressure pipe. A pin 62 has one end connected with the head of the bellows 56 and its other end engaged with the valve stem 34. Within the bellows 56 a spring 64 is mounted and an adjusting nut 66 engages one end of the spring for adjusting lts tension as found necessary.

It will be obvious that pressure within the casing 58 surrounding the bellows 56 willtend to collapse the action of the bellows 64 and upon the valve against the action of the spring 32. The amountof opening of the valve will be in proportion to the pressure exerted within the casing 58 except that when such pressure reaches a pre-determined high value the valve container 22 will engage the sleeve 30 and thereafter the valve will remain in such predetermined wide l open. position.

In Figure 2 I havevshown a refrigerant compressor 68 operated by a motor 10. I have also shown a condenser coil 12 submerged in cooling water in a tank 14. A pipe line 16 extends from 'the tting 60 of the pressure responsive device B to the outlet or high pressure pipe 18 of the -refrigerant compressor 68. A pipe 80 connects the outlet i4 of the valve A with the tank 14 for supplying cold water thereto, heated water therefrom being discharged through an overiiow pipe 82. In operation, assuming the refrigerant compressor 68 idle, the pressure in the pipes 16 and 18 will be lowered so that the valve will be seated as shown in Figure 2.' When the motor4 10 is energized and the compressorV 68 commences to operate, pressure will be built up in the pipes 16 and 18 and in the casing 58 surrounding the bellows 56. This'rwill cause the valve 26 to be opened, the degree of opening increasing with the building up of pressure. This will at first admit water'slowly to the tank 14 and admit it at an increased rate of flow as the compressor 68 continues to operate and additional cooling water is required to properly cool the condensing coil 12.4 Since the valve is of balanced construction,` the valve will operate at best eiciency regardless of the pressure of the water supplied thereto.

My valve is superior to the magnet or solenoid operated types, which are either fully open or fully closed. For instance, in warm weather it is necessary to manually adjust the magnetic type of valve to allow greater now, and in cold 5 weather it must be manually adjusted to prevent undue waste of water. With my valve, however, in warm weather the refrigerant being warmer will build up a high pressure in the casing 58 and open the valve wider, while in cold 10 weather there will be lower refrigerant pressure which prevents wide opening oi.' the valve.

By lproviding a bellows 44 in place of a packing, I entirely eliminate leakage and provide minimum friction which will not change l5 throughout years of operation. Consequently frequent adjustments of the spring pressure such asjwould be necessary if a packing gland were. used and packing and repacking trouble are entirely done away with. A much closer 20 operating differential is hadbecause of the reduction of friction to a minimum and long life of the valve is insured.

Some changes may be made in the construction and, arrangement of the parts of my `device without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claim, any modied forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents, which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim as my inventiom- In a valve structure, a Valve body having an inlet and an outlet, a seat between said inlet and said outlet, a bellows casing extending downwardly from said body, the interior of said bellows casing being subject to pressure of liquid in said inlet, the lower end of said bellows casing being open, a yoke secured to said bellows casing and having -a head spaced therefrom, a pressure responsive bellows mounted on'said head, a valve 4u4 stem having its lower end connected with said bellows, said stem extending through said headV and said bellows casing, a Valve plug operatively connected with the upper end of said stem and associated with said valve seat to seat thereagainst upon downward movement of the valve stem and to be unseated therefrom upon upward movement of the stem, a sealing bellows of substantially the same effective area as the area of said valve seat, the upper end thereof being sealed relative to said valve stem and a closure member for the open end of said bellows casing, said closure member being operable to seal the lower end of said sealing bellows relative to said bellows casing.

, MALCOLM E. HENNING. 

